OhMyEggs: Cosplay Interview

“It’s just random, it’s completely random,” says Megan, aka OhMyEggs, when asked about her cosplay name. “My best friend’s dad was trying to say Meg to me and he accidentally said ‘Egg.’ Then it became a nickname. Everyone called me Egg just to take the mick. Usually I say, ‘Oh my gosh,’ quite a bit. So… OhMyEggs.”

From Lancashire, working for an entertainment company meant that OhMyEggs had been raised into sewing and costumes, but she only got into cosplaying at conventions in 2012, attending MCM London that same year (“It was really quiet,” said OhMyEggs of her experience).

Since then, instead of sticking to a particular niche, she has cosplayed characters ranging from anime (Madoka Kaname from Puella Magi Madoka Magica and Mey-Rin from Black Butler); Disney (Ariel from Disney’s The Little Mermaid and Princess Aurora from Disney’s Sleeping Beauty), and video games (Elizabeth from Bioshock Infinite and Bittersweet Lulu from League of Legends). She has also taken on cosplay commissions.

Our interview was conducted on the Sunday of MCM London Comic Con, with OhMyEggs cosplaying Supergirl. During that weekend, she also cosplayed Rachel Amber from Life Is Strange and Jinx from League of Legends, taking part in photoshoots with photographer Papercube. “The first time I shot with her was at MCM Birmingham 2015 and since then I’ve seen her grow as a cosplayer,” said Papercube. “We probably spend more time joking about than actually shooting. Because of this it still amazes me that we even manage to get any decent shots, but it makes the shoot so much more enjoyable and memorable. I don’t think I know anyone who has made as many costumes as she has. She’s also the first cosplayer that has been ready to shoot by 9:00 am at Comic Con, which I’m pretty impressed by!”

Nervous to begin with, as we continued OhMyEggs was talkative and polite throughout the interview, as we discussed cosplaying Jinx, looking back at old photos, keeping the enthusiasm going and cosplaying with her mother.

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Who have you been cosplaying at MCM London this weekend?Rachel Amber from Life is Strange, Jinx from League of Legends and Supergirl.

How did you get into cosplay? I understand you were cosplaying before you even attended a convention?My mum is an entertainer. She makes costumes and I’ve been raised into sewing and costumes my entire life. So I’ve kind of always been in costume for work. But it was an old friend that got me into cosplay. She was very into anime, Naruto, things like that. So she made me watch Naruto. I went to my first convention and got into it.

So how old would you have been when you got into cosplay?15. So it’s been six years. [But] 2014, that was when I made my first costume. The first two I made were Toph Beifong from Avatar: The Last Airbender, I made her fire outfit, as well as Yui from Sword Art Online.

You cosplayed Jinx from League of Legends this weekend.Yes.

You first cosplayed Jinx back in May 2015. Earlier this year, you described Jinx as one of the cosplays you look back on and notice so many things you could improve. What have you improved?[Originally] I duct taped a lot of the outfit together. The top, it was duct taped to the belt. I hadn’t made the belt, I just added bits to it. The shorts, they were just plain shorts that I hot glued stripes onto. This time I sewed everything. Even the belts I’ve made. I bought cheap bullets before, now I’ve made chunky ones. The shoes were very plain before, I had the clips this time instead of just the laces. The wig with a proper fringe, the big gun with the lights on, there was a lot to improve on it. So it’s just moreaccurate this time. That’s what I wanted to do, so it wouldn’t fall apart… but it did. Just from the heat, my costume literally melted by the end. The heat melted the glue. Fishbones kind of melted a bit in places.

For me, back then, it was really good. I was like, “I really want to do it again.” It was the cosplay that got my confidence up. It was a confidence boost. More people noticed me. So I was like, “Ooh, this is a cool one.”

So the knock-on effect from that, when more people notice you, particularly on social media, how does that feel for you?It’s crazy. Even my old Jinx, she’s still one of the most popular cosplays I’ve posted. Even three months back, I posted an old photo. It went crazy! It got so many Likes on Instagram. I was like, “Should I bring her back?” Everyone said I should.

OhMyEggs cosplaying Jinx. Photo by Papercube.

OhMyEggs cosplaying Jinx. Photo by Papercube.

You did describe Jinx as the cosplay that brought out your confidence. In the past, you called it the one that made you want to cosplay more characters, rather than the small cute characters you started out doing. What was it in particular about Jinx that raised your confidence?I think it’s that she’s a very tall, crazy, skinny girl… and I don’t really portray any of those things. I’m very short and I’m very out of my comfort zone in essentially just a bra and shorts. [But] no one was judging me, they were just supporting the fact I did it.

I remember people saying, “Oh, you should do short characters because you suit them and you’ll get popular for doing that character.” So it was nice to see that I could do a taller character and people still appreciated it and the work I put into it.

With Jinx, and subsequent cosplayers after that, would you say that cosplaying in general has increased your own self-confidence?Yes. I was a very shy scardy cat. I was very hidden. I found it very hard to talk to anyone. Even people I know, I’d be really scared to just talk to them, whereas now I’m a very jump-about, loud person and cosplay has done that for me.

Another thing that’s really great is the people I’ve met through it. It’s amazing. My best friend, Luna Hope Cosplay, I’ve known her for just over a year now. She’s done so much to raise my confidence. She’s pushed me to go do things. If I hadn’t have done this, I wouldn’t have got to meet these people who are like my close-knit friends now. I’m in Lancaster and everyone I know lives in London, so I travel all the time to go see my friends, and cosplay has done that. This con has essentially done that. So it’s a real connection for me.

You’ve mentioned that your mother is a costume maker. How often does she help you with your cosplays?She doesn’t! So, she used to make them and she’d make her own costumes and come to the cons. But I make costumes for my mum’s business now. So she now pays me to make costumes.

She taught me how to use a sewing machine. Because my first three costumes I hand-sewed. I was just terrified of [using] a sewing machine. She was like, “Okay Megan, it’s really simple, just do this.” Then she left me to it.

We did Morticia and Wednesday Addams [from The Addams Family] at MCM Birmingham [in March 2018], and I made the Morticia for her. Because we do Alice in Wonderland events she likes to do her big props and she makes these massive tower of teapots and cups. Then she’s like, “Would you mind making this Queen of Hearts costume and this Mad Hatter costume?” It’s me now. She taught me, but now I’ve taught her how to make a circle skirt, how to put a zip in, how to do pockets. I have started to teach her.

You have mentioned on social media how even she has said that you have surpassed her.Yeah, she’s said it quite a few times. Even on social media when I post things about my mum being my inspiration, she’s said it. Costume-wise, I work faster and I can do more techniques compared to her.

Would you say that’s come about because of the different characters you are cosplaying?Yes, definitely. Essentially I’ve learnt it from her, where we both look at the pictures and we can make it. Whereas she makes very simplistic ones for her work, I had so many complex ones that I’ve had to make. So I guess that’s why I’ve started to research and learn more things.

OhMyEggs cosplaying Princess Aurora. Photo by Papercube.

OhMyEggs cosplaying Princess Aurora. Photo by Papercube.

You did say that your mum cosplays with you at conventions a few times. How did that come about?She wanted to come. I’m pretty sure [the first time] was when I did Bittersweet Lulu and she came down as Maleficent. It was March 2016, my mum was like, “Ooh, I’d like to come and see what it’s like.” So she came as Maleficent. Then the following year she brought out her Evil Queen and Maleficent again, with my Princess Aurora from Sleeping Beauty.

Birmingham is her local-ish one, so she likes to go with me. She loves it. She’s always at work for the November con. This year she did the White Rabbit with my Alice from Alice in Wonderland and Morticia from The Addams Family. Now every time I go to MCM Birmingham in March she always comes with me. She wants to come to MCM London as well. We’ve got a lot more plans coming up. Like, a lot more. I can say one of them we’re doing. It’s from Disney’s The Descendents. I’m doing Mal and my mum is doing Maleficent. We’re trying to do mother and daughter cosplays, so that’s one of them that’s coming up.

Will you be filming the making of your future cosplays to upload on to YouTube?I really want to. I was going to originally [film] Jinx, but because I’m constantly moving my camera around the room, trying to show everything and zoom in, it adds so much time to the costume making process. If I’ve got a lot of time, then I’ll go, “Okay, I can record this one.” But with Jinx, I had no time at all. I had two months and I was like, “Okay, let’s crack on and make all these weapons.” So I want to do a lot more on YouTube, but it’s just the time to do it all.

You’ve described Ladybug from Miraculous Ladybug as “quite possibly my favourite of all time character to cosplay.” After this weekend, is Ladybug still your favourite?No. At the time, she was so lovable to be. I think in the UK I was only the second person to cosplay her and the amount of people that went crazy for it and were just like, “Oh my gosh, it’s a Ladybug cosplayer!” Everywhere I went, someone was calling it, or someone was saying something to me, or essentially cheering me on. I remember I was [at MCM Birmingham] running across the con floor and a load of people were like, “Yeah, go Ladybug, go!” It was just a really fun, nice place to be in. But [the costume] was so badly made. I had tonsillitis and I made it in two days before the convention, because I decided to just make it quickly.

Because I’m so short, it was a kid’s morphsuit and I just hot-glued spots all over it. I’ve even got a scar from the hot glue. Because I essentially got the hot glue on the spot and dropped the spot on my leg, I’ve now got a big hot glue mark. It was like a really bad cosplay, but it was just fun to be Ladybug. I’ve completely remade it. I bought this amazing wig, a morphsuit I created all by myself, shiny fabric, did all the spots on it, then I came to this convention [a few months later] and I had just one photo all day. Because there were so many Ladybugs, I didn’t get the recognition and the vibe that I got from MCM Birmingham when I did it. So she kind of lost the love a bit.

So what has surpassed Ladybug?I’d say my… (hesitates). I love Jinx. Jinx is amazing to be. Both times I’ve been her I loved being her. She was a bit of a stress yesterday because of the heat. But I think my all-time favourite is Bittersweet Lulu. Over time I have ripped bits apart to use in other cosplays, but I really want to remake her again. I loved being Bittersweet Lulu. She was just a really fun, evil character to be.

So was it more about the character rather than the costume?I just loved having the big fluffy hat, the cane, the really cute shoes and the big fluffy dress. Then whenever someone asked me for a photo I had the most evil face. I didn’t have to be a cute person.

Everyone [used to] tell me, “Oh, you should be a cute character.”
I’m like, “No, I like to be the evil one.” I really like being evil sometimes. It’s quite fun. I think Lulu is my all time favourite.

They are both from League of Legends. Is there a particular thing about the game which you’re drawn to?It’s quite crazy. I’m very bad at the game. My main is Tristana, who I’ve also cosplayed, but I think I’ve got rid of all things Tristana on my social media. That was an awful cosplay.

I just love the character designs and the characterisations of them. They’re just really cool characters to be. There’s lots of people from the game that you get to also latch on to.

OhMyEggs cosplaying Bittersweet Lulu. Photo by Papercube.

OhMyEggs cosplaying Madoka Kaname. Photo by Papercube.

You’ve said a few times on social media that you’ve lost your passion for cosplay. At one point you said it was “more of a social thing over having an actual passion for sewing.”(Nods) Yeah.

So, what do you do to keep your enthusiasm for cosplay going?I think what it was… last year I created Anna from Olaf’s Frozen Adventure. I spent a lot of time on it. I did all the embroidery on it, hand-embroidered. It had pom-poms all over it and the reindeer, and bells, and a big fluffy jacket. I looked at it, and quality-wise, it’s probably the best thing I have made. I was like, “Wow, I’ve made this.” The whole vibe and everything when I was being her… I enjoyed the social aspect more than actually being the character.

I think it’s very much the money as well, with how far away every convention is, the hotels being booked up. You take everything into account. So even though you’re having these fun times, you’re with all your friends, you get some really great photos and it’s amazing, it’s like, “But I’ve just spent £500 on this one weekend!” (Laughs) So it’s trying to get it back to doing cosplays I really want to be in, really want to go in. Like Jinx – she made this weekend. I loved being her for the day.

Well, like this weekend, do you ever think, “I want that feeling again?” Does that keep the enthusiasm alive?Yeah. For six years, I put every single penny I have spare into cosplay… everything. It’s trying to realise I need to split it in half – cosplay and something else on the side, other experiences as well. I’m just a very cosplay-kind of girl. So I just need to mix it up a little bit.

Was there a turning point where you thought, “Okay, cosplay is now taking up my life”?Yes, exactly.

Do you think you could pinpoint when that was?I used to have a thing where I’d go home after this convention, and I’d be like, “Okay, so when’s my next convention? It’s in three months time. What costumes am I taking?” And it’s a cycle again. So instead of saying, “Oh, I’m going to go on holiday, that’s my next thing,” my next thing was the next convention. It was just very con, con, con.

Also, I was one of those people who would wear one costume and then that would be it. It’s gone… in the bin or sold. I haven’t done that now, I’ve stopped doing it, but I would put all this work into it and just not get the full amount out of it.

Yes, I recall there were some costumes you threw in the bin because you weren’t happy with them.(Laughs) [My Weiss Schnee] transforming dress. I got rid of that. It got such a good reaction. I gained a thousand Likes on Facebook through this transforming dress I made. But it was really badly made. I was like, “It’s no good, I’m just going to bin it. I don’t like it. I want to recreate it really good.” If everything I made was really good and how I want it, I’d just enjoy everything so much more. So it’s my own fault at the end of the day.

So in your head, you’re thinking, “I would rather do this better next time. I know I can make this better.”Yeah. That’s the thing, I know I can. Then when you see someone else in the same costume, you’re like, “Damn it! I wish I just worked harder on it and not made it quickly in the two weeks before MCM.”

With the sewing… I love sewing, I think it’s more I lost the passion to make a costume, where instead I wanted to be making pretty dresses for myself to wear every day. I’ve got more into the fashion side of it as well.

There are so many costumes you’ve made, but what is the most you’ve spent on a single cosplay?I don’t really budget. I just buy things as I go. But surprisingly, I think my first Jinx was my most expensive costume. Because it was before I could sew very well, I had to buy the leather gloves and the leather belts. I bought everything instead of making it. I’m pretty sure I spent £180 on that. I’m not a big spender. I don’t think I’ve spent much more than that.

How much did your remade Jinx come up to in comparison?Shall we include everything? Probably about £110-ish, around that mark. I didn’t spend as much. I had a lot of stuff in the house as well. I have an attic full of fabric which I can just supply things from. I only had to buy a wig, boots and some of the leather. That’s all I had to buy. So it’s a lot cheaper. Actually, it could have been less! It might have been around £90 – £100.

Because you’ve done it yourself, I imagine there’s more satisfaction there as well?Yeah, I made everything. Even the boots I transformed this time. Everything, I did.

Going through your social media pages, I noticed you had deleted a lot of old cosplay photos and cosplay progress photos.They’re archived. So I’ve still got them all, I can still upload them again. It’s just to try and get my social media pages looking a lot neater. It’s just my mindset of, “I want to neaten this account and make it nicer.”

You did recently say, “Anyone else look back on old cosplays and notice so many things you could improve about them?” Given your progress, do you feel embarrassed or find it cringeworthy when looking back at old cosplay photos?Yes. When I was 18-19 years old, I had a DeviantArt profile and I’m really sad I did this now, but I remember I deleted everything. I remember [this photo] when I cosplayed Naruto, I had this neon yellow fluffy wig, which was not very Naruto, eating a Pot Noodle (laughs). I was pretending it was ramen. That was the kind of thing I’d do. [The photos] were so cringy. I was young, but I wish I kept them because they’re kind of funny to look back on now. But I do cringe quite a bit at some of that stuff.

You’ve posted up a few comparison shots on social media, comparing how you looked when you initially cosplayed a character to how they look now. You did it recently with Jinx.Yes, and I did it with Alice as well.

Another example is when you compared your cosplay of Ariel from The Little Mermaid from back in 2014, alongside a photo of you cosplaying her again in 2017. How does it make you feel when you look at your progress, at what you’ve managed to accomplish and where you are now?It’s a stupidly amazing feeling. I remember I posted the Jinx one when I hadn’t even got the make-up on, but I was so excited, I just wanted to post it and show what I had achieved.

So I did it with Alice. I originally used to play Alice for work and I was 14 at the time. It was fine for me to work at the events. But it’s crazy that now I’ve improved the wig, make-up and the dress. It’s gone from what my mum made me to what I’ve made for myself. Ariel was one of my first proper cosplays that I actually did. It was so bad. Now I’ve made this full-on corset, I made the top, I made the flowy dress with pockets for cosplay purposes and I did the fringe. It was really cool to see that I’ve been able to learn all these things that I wanted to learn, that I wanted to be able to do myself. So it’s a really cool feeling.

OhMyEggs cosplaying Supergirl. Photo by Papercube.

OhMyEggs cosplaying Supergirl. Photo by Papercube.

What would you say you have learnt the most during your time cosplaying?I’ve learnt to just not hold myself back anymore. Because of my height, I was very insecure. I was bullied in school, I was the short one, I was even pushed over by bigger kids. It was ridiculous. I think that made me very shy and go, “Oh, I can’t talk to people, I can’t do things.” I’d just sit there and go, “Oh no, I can’t do it.” But now, I’m like, “Ah, I’ll try it.” So I think that’s what I’ve learnt the most from it. Just get out there and do it.

I’ve learnt to just jump into situations. Even with sewing. So with a costume, instead of just going, “Oh gosh, I can’t make that,” I’ll go, “Oh okay, I’ll try it.” Even in social situations, “Oh, I’ll just go talk to this person. I’ll go say, ‘Hi.’”

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Thank you to OhMyEggs for taking the time out for the interview. You can follow her progress on her Facebook and Instagram pages.

Thank you to Papercube for arrangement and photos. You can check out his work on his Facebook and Instagram pages.